Excellent companion addressing not-for-profits' unique needs

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	• Good to Great and the Social Sectors: A Monograph to Accompany Good to Great Jim Collins HarperCollins, 2005 - 42 pages average customer review:based on 60 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

BS-free Wisdom!

I usually gag at these sort of trendy management books (I still bear scars from the Who Moved My Cheese era), but this is smart, down to earth wisdom. Light on jargon, and long on concrete examples and advice, this short read is well worth it. If non profit leaders read this, understood it, and adopted this approach, we could change the world!

Excellent companion addressing not-for-profits' unique needs

Jim Collins is the author of "Good to Great," an influential business and leadership book. In the time since the publication of the book, Collins realized that there exist points of disconnect within the book for leaders of not-for-profit agencies (e.g. churches, local charitable organizations, groups that exist for specific causes like disease eradication or the advancement of art). In an effort to apply the concepts of "Good to Great" to the unique needs of social service organizations, this monograph was produced.

This monograph can best be thought of as an appendix or additional chapter for "Good to Great." Indeed, the reader will be lost unless first reading the work upon which this monograph is based. In it, five points/modifications/explanations are provided that address what Collins perceives to be the five biggest "trouble areas" when applying "Good to Great" to not-for-profit agencies.

First, not-for-profits struggle with the definition of "great." In the definition supplied by Collins in "Good to Great," "great" is partly defined in terms of profit margin. Since not-for-profit agencies, by definition, do not seek profits, a modification must be made. Collins suggests using anecdotal evidence and rubrics instead of budgetary numbers to determine if the organization's goals are being met.

Second, power and authority in social sector organizations are not centralized, but contain nearly limitless checks ("a thousand points of no"). Collins advocates a leadership style that emphasizes the good of the organizations. If the organizational leader can effectively communicate (legitimately, not falsely) that his main concern is the health of the organization and realization of the cause, he buys himself a lot of leeway in decision making.

Third, volunteer-based organizations feel great pressure to simply put warm bodies in positions of authority instead of selectively choosing only the best candidates. Collins argues that the pressures of a volunteer-based culture should only make the leader more determined to practice selectivity. Setting high standards, focusing on creating "pockets of excellence" within organizations, and emphasizing the moral importance of the organization can help to attract high-quality employees and volunteers.

Fourth, the concept of profit margin creeps in again. It is important to recognize that organizations--business as well as social-sector--need money to operate. Even though not-for-profit agencies are not about the money, their "hedgehog concept" should certainly include consideration of their economic engine. That is, their social cause should take into consideration the question, "will people actually buy into our cause and support it with donations of volunteer hours, monetary donations, and in-kind support?"

Finally, the organization must not neglect promoting itself as a "brand." Although the natural inclination of social sector institutions is to keep the focus on the cause, they must also make sure people understand that the organization is meeting the cause effectively...indeed, they are "the best" at what they do. A reputation for excellence tends to attract loyalty and donations. Consider Harvard University, which attracts millions of dollars it doesn't necessarily need because people believe that a Harvard education is "the best" in the world.

In all, as a pastor in a not-for-profit church, this book addressed all the concerns I had in applying Collins' "Good to Great" concepts in my situation. Truth be told, it even addressed problems I had not yet identified. I highly recommend this brief monograph to compliment "Good to Great."

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Taking a non-profit from Good to Great

As a social entrepreneur and current business school student, I was fascinated by Collins' work in Good To Great, and I am thrilled that he has provided this monograph to answer the questions that many of us the social sector have been wrestling with since his Good To Great publication was first released.

Unlike most publications about this sector, Collins directly provides interesting insight into accountability measures for social sector organizations, as well as the characteristics and the qualities that successful managers exhibit in the social sector. As usual, his Good To Great technique of analysis has yielded him not only important take-aways for organizational management, but an intuitive sense of how organizations, both for-profit and non-profit, can truly achieve sustainability.

I strongly recommend this book for anyone who enjoyed Good To Great and has pondered its applications to the social sector. I would also highly recommend the How-to guide: Business Planning for Enduring Social Impact: A Social-Entrepreneurial Approach to Solving Social Problems by Andrew Wolk and Kelley Kreitz for anyone looking for a very clear and direct approach to putting some of Collins' idea and suggestions to practice.

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Good to Great and the Social Sectors

20% of the upper corner of the book was bent - may have been due to the packing type used

A Must Read Together With Built To Last

This book by Jim Collins results of a study of several companies which made a sustained quantitative and qualitative jump over a period of at least 15 years. The framework it describes covers six core common principles of these companies: Level 5 Leadership; First Who... Then What; Confront The Brutal Facts; The Hedgehog Concept; A Culture of Discipline; and Technology Accelerators. It's interesting to notice how some the referred companies have developed since the time the book was written, such as : Gillete (bought by Procter & Gamble); Fannie Mae (hit by the subprime) and Circuit City (underperforming). Nevertheless, while I don't believe that companies can be forever great, I do believe that the principles outline in this book are timeless. Highly recommended - together with Built to Last from the same author.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Jim Collins Answers the Social Sector with a Monograph to Accompany Good to Great. 30-50% of those who bought Good to Great work in the Social Sector.

This monograph is a response to questions raised by readers in the social sector. It is not a new book. Jim Collins wants to avoid any confusion about the monograph being a book by limiting its distribution to online retailers. Based on interviews and workshops with over 100 social sector leaders. The difference between successful organizations is not between the business and the social sector, the difference is between good organizations and great ones.

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